A Date To Remember
by graille
Summary: River x Eleven. Each birthday, one prisoner in the Stormcage Containment Facility is visited by a mysterious man in a big blue box. It's been this way for as long as the guards can remember; they don't know why it's allowed, but they aren't going to interfere. This year, the Doctor has something special planned ...


Outside her cell the clock ticked on, singing to the tune of that fickle bitch Time.

River thought about time a lot. Not like there was really anything else to do on the days she played the good little prisoner and stayed in her cell. Just sit there and listen as her life dribbled away. Though she tried not to dwell on it, each tick was a toll, a toll for the end of her time with him. But River wasn't angry any more. She'd long since accepted that, though her fate wasn't fair, it was equally unchangeable. _Screaming at a river will do nothing to change the way it flows_.

Yes, most days the sound of the clock was a grim reminder. But not today. Today it was the day before her birthday, and in ten short minutes _it _would begin. The guards would leave, as they did every year, and that beautiful, ridiculous wheezing would fill the cell block. It would grow and grow, a monument to his stubbornness, then stop suddenly and there, there he'd be. Her Doctor would waltz out of his stolen TARDIS with that infuriating grin plastered across his boyish face. She'd join him. They'd exchange words. Then away they'd go, the two of them, spinning off on whatever mad adventure he had planned this time. She had already unlocked her door, of course - although it wasn't like she'd been waiting for this day for over a month or anything. She could leave any time she felt like it. _But it's really only meaningful today, _a little voice in the back of her mind whispered. She shook her head. River Song wasn't one of his damsels in distress, ready to be rescued. She was more of a ... co-conspirator. Yes, that was a good way of putting it.

She couldn't help but wonder what it would be this time. As it always did, the most memorable date they'd had rose to meet that thought. The Frost Fair, 1814. Ice skating on the Thames. Stevie Wonder singing under London Bridge. Her Doctor had always been partial to grand gestures. She could almost feel the icy wind, the sensation of gliding over the frozen river, a frosted kiss and the first snowflake as it snagged in her curls. A smile tugged at her lips at the memory that came with that sensation - her Doctor, slipping and scrambling like a baby giraffe, waving his arms and calling for her help. He was truly, sensationally useless. He'd insisted on wearing yet another fez, the idiot, and had looked so sad as it slid away down the river. Of course, the pout had been replaced by the most adorable smile as a little Georgian girl further downstream picked up the ridiculous hat and placed it tentatively on her head before skating away. It had certainly met a better fate than his first one, she mused, and how could she begrudge anything that removed that old, sad look from his too-young eyes, however temporarily?

Perhaps this year would be more like the year with Rain Gods, the kind of year where everything went totally wrong. One of the best kinds of years. _I can't believe I just thought that, _River sighed. But it _had _been exhilarating, that day. Far better than any restaurant. She'd never tell him that, though - no point letting his ego get any bigger. No, hopefully this would be a thrilling but danger-free year. The two seemed to go hand in hand when it came to the Doctor, though, so she wasn't getting her hopes up.

The clock ticked through the silence, somehow louder than before. Without looking up, she knew it was time. The guards were gone. Her door was unlocked. And yet … no groaning, no wheezing, no sound of brakes-left-on that filled her heart with the strangest mix of joy and dread. It hadn't even been a minute yet, but she was starting to worry. He was a Time Lord, he had a time machine … there was no reason for him to be late. What if something had happened to him? The poor fool never knew when to surrender. He could be in danger. He could have a new face by now. He could be … indisposed. Or what if - what if he just wasn't coming? What if their last meeting had really been their _last _meeting?_ Please, no._ River took a deep breath and shook her head. This wasn't her. No way. She wasn't dependent on this man, and she wasn't going to panic just because he was a little late for one date. Even though it made no sense for him to be. He'd probably crashed. She found herself running over the facts in her head. There was no way she'd been wrong about the date, and the clock wasn't fast, but there had to be some reason, because now it was two minutes, now it was five, now seven and he'd never ever been this late before and worrying like this was ridiculous but what if …

She never finished that thought because there it was, that wonderful and terrible sound filling her heart with hope as it began to echo through the block. It rose to a crescendo, and then cut off without warning. In the sudden silence, she heard an irritated sigh from a guard lurking out of sight in a distant stairwell. A little way down the hallway stood the TARDIS, solid, blue and dependable. Of course he'd turned up. Didn't he always? Good old madman, with his weary heart and his battered blue box. River smiled, pulled open her unlocked cell door and strode out.

"Cutting it a bit fine, aren't you?" she called to the closed door, leaning back against the stone wall. The door swung open, warm light flooding the corridor, and a figure stepped out. Her smile widened. "Hello, sweetie."

"Terribly sorry!" called her Doctor, spinning around as if he was addressing the whole prison. "Setting up took a _little _longer than anticipated. Had to deal with a small infestation of Gubbage Cones before the locals would lend me the crystals - they belonged the High Empress in Waiting, you know, lovely lady, very friendly. She stole my shoes. Had to find new ones, hence the delay. But that's a story for later. How are you, Ms Song? More to the point, _when _are you? Let's see … have we done Chimeria yet?" The whole speech came without pause for breath as he paced towards her, and was addressed to no-one in particular. _Typical_, she thought fondly.

"No," River answered, "but I look forward to it, whatever it may be. Are you well?" Both of them could hear her unspoken questions. _Do you have a companion? Has anyone left you, in whichever way they will? Is your heart as intact as I last saw it?_

The Doctor smiled, a little sadly. "Yes, I'm well. Amy is too." He emphasised the last phrase a little - an unacknowledged answer.

"Oh good. Yes, that's good." They stood there in silence for a moment, then the Doctor clapped his hands, breaking the melancholy moment.

"Right then! Happy birthday, River Song! Got you a cake, but I seem to have misplaced it. No matter, we can get cake later. And balloons. You know, I think I promise you balloons every year, but we never seem to have them. Why is that?"

_Because, my love, you have the attention span of a puppy, _River thought. "I don't know, dear. Would you like to explain where we're going?"

"Yes!" The Doctor seemed very pleased with himself. "Tell me, River, are you a fan of dancing?"

"I could be … but can you dance? it seems a little unlikely."

His insulted face was priceless. "I can dance! I can dance very well, I'll have you know."

"In that case, I can most certainly be a fan of dancing."

"Excellent! You know where your room is, obviously, and I'm sure the TARDIS has a huge selection of outfits..." He clapped his hands again. "I'll get us there!" He motioned for her to step into the TARDIS, obviously eager to begin. She did so, but turned to face him once she reached the console instead of heading straight to the room the TARDIS had grown for them.

"Would you like to tell me where we're going?" River raised her eyebrows. He _always_ forgot the important details like that.

"Of course, of course. We're going to dance on the shores of Florana," his fingers danced as he pulled up a picture on the screens, "by the effervescent seas, where the beaches glow gold and the roses grow black." He flung his hands out. "Tada?" River stared in wonder at the image the TARDIS was showing. It was a beautiful planet, truly spectacular. He hadn't been exaggerating there. Florana practically shone. She could almost hear the music now, floating lightly through the air, as soft as the sand and the flowers … Her attention snapped back to the Doctor. He looked worried, like a child who's not sure they've done the right thing.

"It looks," she said a little breathlessly, "incredible." The Doctor beamed.

"Jolly good. You get changed, I'll fly the TARDIS. I brought a picnic too, you know."

"Tell you what. _I'll _fly the TARDIS, you sit there and look pretty, and when we arrive _safely in one piece_ I'll get changed while you set it up. Deal?"

The Doctor looked like he was going to argue, but thought better of it. "Deal." He sat down in the chair by the handrail, pouring slightly.

A smile curled River's lips as she slid her hands along the TARDIS console. The co-ordinates of their destination flickered on the monitor, and she set them without fuss. None of that ridiculous spinning the Doctor insisted on. The TARDIS hummed in response. Below the humming, very faintly, she could hear a voice drift over from the Doctor's side.

_"Happy birthday to you,_

_Happy birthday to you,_

_Happy birthday, my River …_

_Happy birthday to you."_

River smiled fondly, pulled the closest lever, and away they spun.


End file.
